Overwhelming Firepower

The group entered Jay’s home, except for the two guards who were cleaning up the thugs, and Robert, who stayed behind to study Gared’s dead body.

Jay’s home was small, cramped, and worn down by years of hard living, yet it was still far better than the alleys outside.

The wooden door creaked when they entered, and the room inside was barely large enough to fit a table, a few mismatched chairs, and a narrow bed pushed against the wall.

The plaster in several places had cracked, exposing the rough timber beneath, while a faint smell of damp wood and old smoke lingered in the air.

A single mana lamp hung from the ceiling, its light dim but steady, giving the room just enough warmth to feel lived in rather than abandoned.

It was humble in every sense, but unlike the street outside, it still felt like a place someone could call home.

Jay quickly walked to the kitchen, but before he went, he said, ”Please sit wherever you like. I will bring out some refreshments.”

Lucen did not hesitate and sat down; on the other hand, Lysette took out her handkerchief and placed it on the chair beside Lucen’s chair and sat down.

Lucen glanced at Lysette for a brief moment when he saw what she had done. He couldn’t help but chuckle in his mind.

”How refined,” Lucen said lightly.

Lysette folded her hands neatly over her lap and returned his glance without the slightest embarrassment.

”Thank you. I am choosing to hear that as praise,” she replied.

Lucen’s lip curled upward a little as he shrugged his shoulders. He then looked around Jay’s house.

A chipped cup sat near the edge of the table. A patched coat hung from a nail on the wall. In one corner rested a pair of worn boots that looked as though they had seen too many winters.

It was obvious that Jay had not been lying when he called this place his home. There was hardship in every part of it, but there was also evidence that someone still tried to keep it in order.

Lysette was also doing the same thing as her gaze glanced around the house. Unlike Lucen, who was looking at the objects in the house, Lysette was looking at possible entrance and exit points.

After a short while, Jay returned carrying a small tray with cups and a kettle that had clearly seen better days.

”I do not have anything expensive,” Jay said quickly, setting the tray down on the table with care. ”It’s only tea I got from the market. It is not any kind of tea a noble would drink or anything like that, but it should still be warm.”

”Thanks, but I’m more interested in what you know about that pill, rather than tea,” Lucen said directly. ”Tell me, Jay, what has happened in the lower districts since I last visited?”

Jay, who had just begun pouring the tea, froze for a brief moment. The kettle in his hand trembled slightly before he steadied it and placed it back down.

His eyes flickered toward the door first, then toward the window, as though simply hearing that question spoken so directly made him instinctively check whether anyone else might be listening.

”A lot has changed since then, Sir Lucen,” Jay said at last, lowering himself into the remaining chair.

”When I met you, I felt like I wanted to change and do better. So I started working properly, no more stealing or roughing up other people. I knew that someone like you would create a legend, and I was proud to at least have been a part of that story... Sorry, that’s not what you wanted to hear. I just wanted you to know.”

”Then I hope you continue to strive to do better,” Lucen replied. He did kinda like redemption stories as well.

Jay lowered his head for a brief moment when he heard Lucen’s words. Hearing encouragement from a person like that made it hard to take it lightly.

”Yes, Sir Lucen,” Jay said quietly. ”I plan to.”

”Good. Now answer the rest,” Lucen replied.

Jay nodded his head and continued. ”The lower district has changed a lot since the last time you came here. Back then, it was rough, but it was rough in a way people understood. There were thieves, drunks, fights in the alleys, and some nasty people who thought having aura made them kings of the streets.”

Lucen listened intently. That was indeed the first impression he got when he went to the lower district for the first time back then.

”The changes came so suddenly, to those who longed for such improvement, it was like a dream. Some roads got better. More mana lamps were placed around the area. The guards started coming around a little more often, especially near the main roads. A few gangs got quieter because of it. Others got wiped out when they became too bold. For a while, people thought things were truly improving.”

Lysette, who had been quietly listening while holding her cup, spoke in a mild tone. ”And yet, judging by what we just saw, that improvement was only on the surface.”

Jay nodded immediately. ”Yes, my lady. That is exactly what happened. The filth did not disappear. It just changed shape.”

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Lysette’s lips. That answer seemed to please her. Jay then continued.

”Not every new thing that came was good. At some point, a few people came to the lower district and started giving a pill that they claimed would make anyone strong.”

When he got to this part of the story, Jay started frowning.

”At first, no one believed them. The lower district was full of liars, drunkards, and desperate fools. If somebody said they had a miracle that could make a weak man strong, most people would laugh or try to steal it for themselves. That was simply how things were. Still, desperation has a way of making even the most ridiculous promises sound convincing.”

Jay couldn’t help but sigh. ”The first ones who took it were men who had already hit the bottom. Failed laborers. Thugs who had gotten old or injured. People who had lost fights too many times and wanted one good chance to stand above someone else.”

”If the result of them taking that pill is what we have seen, then wouldn’t nobody dare take such a thing?” Lucen asked.

”That was a rather special pill. The normal pill given to those who have enough money would indeed enhance their abilities, not as much as the one we saw, but enough that it convinced everyone of the effectiveness of the pill. Unfortunately, the increase in abilities was not permanent. So those who wanted to continue to feel powerful needed to buy more of that pill.”

Jay lowered his gaze as he spoke, as though simply remembering it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

”At first, it looked like nothing more than a dangerous vice. Men would take it before a fight, win, swagger around for a day, and then crawl back for more when the strength faded. The problem was that once people saw even a small result, they stopped caring about the cost. A man who had always been beaten suddenly got to be the one doing the beating. For people in the lower district, that kind of feeling is harder to give up than coin.”

Lucen rested an arm on the table and listened without interrupting.

Jay continued, ”That was how it spread. Not all at once, but steadily. First among the desperate, then among the greedy, and after that among those who simply did not want to be left behind. There were some who only used it once or twice and walked away. There were others who started depending on it for everything. I even heard that some nobles came to buy a few pills to enhance their strength before this year’s entrance exam.”

”I see... So then why were those men looking for you?” Lucen asked another question.

”I think it’s because I was snooping around... Ever since that pill started circulating in the lower district, a few people started disappearing. That was normal here in the lower district, so that didn’t raise any suspicion, but then the frequency of disappearances increased. The worst part... Were the children. They started going missing as well.”

”Did you report that to the guards?” Lysette asked.

Jay then showed a smile of self-pity. ”Heh, My Lady, the guards care little for those of us in the lower district. I would need to present solid evidence that something was going on before they even start to do something. That is why I was trying to find the missing people myself.”

Jay lowered his head for a moment after saying that, as though he already knew how foolish it sounded for someone like him to try doing such a thing.

Yet neither Lucen nor Lysette showed much reaction, just wanting him to continue the story. Seeing that Jay simply continued his story.

”I asked around and listened to every rumor I could hear. Then, finally, I tailed one of the guys who were selling that pill, and I found one of the people who had been missing. He had changed, as if the life had been drained from him. I tried talking to him, but he did not respond at all.”

Jay’s fingers tightened around the edge of the cup. ”He looked at me once, but there was nothing in his eyes. It was like the person I knew was already gone, and only the shell was left behind.”

A brief silence fell over the small room. Then Lysette set her cup down softly and turned her deep blue eyes toward Lucen. ”So, Lucen,” she asked in her usual calm voice, ”what do you intend to do now that we know the lower district is rotting from beneath the surface?”